A near-death experience at birth
Death Studies 1990 DOI: 10.1080/07481189008252359 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | An adult respondent who reported a birth near-death experience |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Key findings | Reports the first case of a near-death experience occurring at birth, recalled through dreams. The experience had a negative affective quality, analyzed using Grey's typology, and originated in the Philippines, adding cross-cultural validation to the phenomenon. |
Abstract
The near-death experience literature includes many accounts of adults who have had near-death experiences as adults or when they were children. The literature also reveals a few accounts of children reporting on their childhood near-death experiences. But the literature does not contain a single case of a near-death experience happening at birth, until the reporting of this case. Not only is this case interesting because it is a birth near-death experience, recalled through the medium of dreams, but because the respondent was born in the Philippines, adding cross-cultural validation to the phenomenon of the near-death experience. This is something the literature has called for in the past. Additionally, unlike the vast majority of near-death experiences, this one had a negative affective quality to it, which is discussed in detail through the use of Grey's typology of negative near-death experiences.